European junior gold medallist Stephanie Twell will run in the senior race at the Antrim International Cross Country.

After completing a convincing hat-trick at last month's championships in Brussels and dominating her older domestic rivals this winter as a junior, Twell will be confident of posting a victory in her first race of 2009.

Her pre-Christmas successes at the first two UK Cross Challenge meetings in Gateshead and Liverpool clearly suggest she will continue her winning ways in the series.

The 19-year-old Aldershot athlete's biggest threat is likely to come from overseas visitors Viktoria Trushenko, the Russian who placed 11th in the senior race in Brussels, and American Emily Brown.

Brown is undertaking a short European tour which will see her compete at the Bupa Great Edinburgh International cross country next weekend at a venue where she finished 18th in the World Championships last March.

Emily Pidgeon, a former European junior 5,000m title holder and another highly-rated young Briton, is also moving up to senior status and will be eager to start the transition with a good performance.

Commonwealth 10,000m champion Boniface Kiprop will start favourite in the men's race, where his main rival will be Ethiopian Imane Merga who came seventh in the World Junior Championships last March.